In this short presentation and discussion, I will present a quick overview of the evolution of the main economic development paradigms after WWII, and of socio-economic systems from before the Industrial Revolution. Globalization and the IT revolution should be properly situated in this development framework. Against this broad backdrop, I will then introduce some of the key elements of the Japanese(/Asian) Development Model(s) and challenges that we face today under the changing global architecture. Where will Ghanafs path lead in the days and years ahead?What sorts of Africa-Asia mutual learning would/should benefit both of us?

About Speaker (Shigeru Thomas OTSUBO):

Dr. Shigeru Thomas OTSUBO, a Japanese national, is a professor of International Development Economics and the director of Economic Development Policy & Management Program at the Graduate School of International Development (GSID), Nagoya University, Japan. GSID is the first graduate institution established in 1991 by the government of Japan in order to pursue research/education in the areas of international development and development cooperation. By the end of the 2009 academic year, GSID will have produced 1,100 masterfs degrees and 250 doctorfs degrees. More than half of the GSID degrees have been conferred on foreign students from over 40 countries.

Prior to his assignment at Nagoya University that started in 1996, he worked as an assistant professor at the Economics Department of Stanford University, an economic affairs officer at the Department of International Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations (UN Development Decades), an economist at the International Economics Department of the World Bank (Global Economic Prospects and the Developing Countries). He also served as a researcher at the Economic Research Institute of the Economic Planning Agency of Japan, a member in the Council of Economic Advisors to Japanese Prime Ministers, and as an advisor to the National Development Planning Agency of Indonesia (BAPPENAS). With regard to Africa, he served as a consultant to the African Alternative Framework for Structural Adjustment Program (AAF-SAP), a consultant to the chief economist of the African Development Bank for the millennium issue of the African Development Report, and as a member in a working group to establish Japanfs aid strategy toward Africa (for TICAD IV). He is always blessed with talented African scholars at Nagoya University, as they work toward their Ph.D. degrees.

His recent publications include Leading Issues in Development with Globalization, Introduction to International Development Studies: An Interdisciplinary Approach, and numerous journal articles/reports on global/regional economic integration, global crises, and on growth & poverty reduction. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics and Operations Research (Stanford University, USA).